The Story of US
Brief History:
US Together Inc., (UST) was founded in 2003 in response to the growing needs of refugees and immigrants in central Ohio. UST is a mutual assistance agency, which means, it was founded and is run by refugees. The agency’s founders have worked with immigrant and refugee populations since 1988.
Initially providing services to Russian speaking populations, UST began resettling diverse refugee populations in 2005 including individuals from the Former Soviet Union, Iran, Iraq, Burma, Bhutan, Eritrea, Somalia, Congo, Sudan, Burundi and Rwanda in Columbus.
In 2008, UST opened an office in Cleveland when it assumed the caseload and responsibilities of the Jewish Family Services Association when it closed its refugee resettlement program. The Cleveland office started resettling populations from the Former Soviet Union, Bhutan and Iraq.
Support for the initial operations of US Together comes from the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), the Hebrew Immigration Aid Society (HIAS), and Franklin & Cuyahoga County Department of Job and Family Services.
As UST strives to expand the services it provides, the organization continues to be a stellar example of refugees serving refugees. Committed to providing culturally and linguistically appropriate services in Columbus and Cleveland offices, UST has a diverse, multi-lingual staff representing 12 countries and over 52 languages. Nine years later, UST has over 20 employees and 250 interpreters . With three offices, UST is able to help nearly 600 refugees establish their new lives in America each year.
